Profesjonalista przy pracy

Zygmunt Zeydler Zborowski był niewątpliwie jednym z absolutnych mistrzów polskiej powieści milicyjnej, a setny zeszyt Ewy to kolejny dowód na potwierdzenie tej tezy. I to nawet nie dlatego, że intryga kryminalna jest jakaś szczególnie odkrywcza czy błyskotliwa, ponieważ w tym zakresie mamy do czynienia raczej z przeciętną (czyli w sumie klasyczną w swoim stylu) powieścią tego autora.

ZZZ jest po prostu jak Adam Słodowy powieści milicyjnej – potrafi zrobić coś z niczego. Czyli ciekawą, krótką nowelę z bardzo zwyczajnych elementów – tyle tylko, że dołożył tutaj trochę ze swojego talentu, który okazał się decydujący. I w ten sposób powstało dzieło godne jubileuszowego zeszytu Ewy wydawnictwa Iskry, nawet jeśli akurat objętość nie jest szczególnie imponująca, to autorowi udało się odcisnąć indywidualne piętno na 3,8 arkusza wydawniczego.

Cała historia zaczyna się w trzech krótkich scenach – strzałach (zajmują one mniej więcej trzy strony), które świetnie wprowadzają w sam środek akcji bez zbędnych upiększeń:

1. Porucznik Olszewski stoi nad brzegiem Wisłą na w warszawskim Czerniakowie razem z ekipą śledczą i lekarzem w sprawie trupa zastrzelonego starszego mężczyzny, który okazuje się znanym chirurgiem, Karolem Rodeckim.

2. Porucznik Olszewski przekazuję smutną wiadomości wdowie, która nie wykazuje specjalnych emocji, i jednocześnie uzyskuje podstawie informacje o denacie oraz jego pozamałżeńskim życiu erotycznym.

3. Na odprawie Pułkownik Leśniewski, wiedziony szóstym zmysłem czyli niezawodnym „nosem”, wydaje majorowi Downarowi polecenia rozszerzenia śledztwa w sprawie dwóch napadów z bronią w ręku, które zdarzyły się w Żyrardowie i Płocku, także na sprawę z Czerniakowa.

Oczywistym jest, że pomysł połączenia śledztw jest genialny i jedyny właściwy. W trakcie śledztwa major Downar jedzie także do zimowej stolicy Polski – Zakopanego, gdzie w ciągu kilku godzi z oficera MO prowadzącego dochodzenie zamienia się w agenta pracującego undercover w roli Rudolfa Lipke z Hamburga. W każdym bądź razie akcja toczy się wartko i wciągnie każdego.

Całkiem świadomie rezygnuję z opowiadania fabuły czy opisu „modelu biznesowego grupy przestępczej, ponieważ moim zdaniem zalety tej książki ulokowane zupełnie gdzie indziej. A myślę, że i inni Klubowicze bardzo sobie cenią różnego rodzaju zapomniane już dzisiaj elementy peerelowskiej rzeczywistości. Na przykład obowiązek cudzoziemców do wymiany pewnej kwoty dewiz na polskie złote po kursie oficjalnym, co było oczywiście skrajnie niekorzystne dla nich.

Także element spożywczo-towarzyski został uwzględniony: niespodziewane odwiedziny Downara w zaprzyjaźnionym domu Walczaków, powodują przygotowania następującego jadłospisu: zapomniana puszka skumbrii, jaja gotowane na twardo, trochę sera i nie wolna zapominać o pól litrze żytniej eksportowej przechowywanej przez gospodarza. Czyli wieczór zapowiadał się naprawdę miło – przy czym panowie rozmawiali głownie o sprawach zawodowych czyli morderstwach.

Z drugiej strony autor posuwa się nawet do dyskretnej kpiny: Downar uzyskuje możliwość przeprowadzenia nielegalnej rewizji w mieszkaniu jednej zosób zamieszanych w sprawę informując żonę dozorcy, iż milicja sprawdza mieszkania osób, które wyjechały na święta. Zostawiają one bowiem „mieszkania bez opieki, a niekiedy nie mają nawet porządnych zamków”. Dozorczyni, co prawda dziwi się, że milicja wie, kto na dłużej wyjeżdża z Warszawy, tym niemniej jednak wpuszcza go do lokalu. Nie jestem prawnikiem, ale wydaje się, że takie postępowanie milicjanta już nawet w Peerelu było po prostu nielegalne. Pamiętam jeden z odcinków telewizyjnego serialu „07 zgłoś się”, w którym porucznik Borewicz raportował sprawdzenie wszystkich osób, które w danym dniu przebywały na delegacji w Warszawie, więc może jednak inwigilacja społeczeństwa była wtedy bardziej rozbudowana niż można przypuszczać.

Natomiast niejaki Tarkowski, zwycięski konkurent doktora Rodeckiego do uczuć oraz pościeli pięknej Pani Grabińskiej grającej rolę femme fatale, na pytanie o miejsce pracy odpowiada następująco: „W Centrali Handlu Zagranicznego. Jeżdżę jako ekspert”. Jeśli dodamy do tego fakt, iż ekspert ten jeździł w delegacji wyposażony także w pistolet, to możemy mieć podejrzenie, iż owa CHZ była tylko przykrywką do innej działalności. A może jego kolegą z pracy był nawet Marian Zacharski.

Próbowałem się przed tym powstrzymać, ale postanowiłem także zacytować mistrzowskie – moim zdaniem – trzy pierwsze zdania otwierające całość: „Zimowa noc dobiegała końca. Wilgotny chłód atakuje z nieznośnym uporem. Przed lodowatym wiatrem wiejącym od Wisły nie chroni ani jesionka, ani nawet kożuch.” Nawet w najbardziej upalny dzień taki opis może wywołać zimny dreszcz u czytelnika.

ZZZ pokazuje także kilka bardzo krótkich i wyjątkowo obrazowych opisów postaci, które wskazują na próbę przybliżenia się do klasyków „czarnego kryminału". Oto kilka próbek:

„Na pierwszy rzut oka można by go zaszeregować do pewnej kategorii ludzi, coś pośredniego pomiędzy włoskim fryzjerem a francuskim żigolakiem”.

„Nie była pięknością w stylu uznawanym za najmodniejszy. Należała raczej do minionego stulecia. Tak zapewne wyobrażali sobie swoje bohaterki Zola, Flaubert czy Maupassant”.

„Taki z niego adwokat, jak ze mnie kosmonauta. Owszem, tytułują go panem mecenasem, ale dałbym sobie głowę uciąć, ze on nawet bardzo rzadko przechodził koło uniwersytetu.”

„Patrząc na gosposię doktora Kowierskiego, można było przypuszczać, że to jakaś czarownica wybierająca się na Łysa Górę”.”

A powyższa lista nie obejmuje wszystkich możliwych cytatów!

W tej opowieści o Downarze mamy także dość ciekawą wskazówkę dotyczącą innych aspektów jego działalności w przeszłości. Przygotowując się w tempie ekspresowym do opracowania sobie legendy niemieckiego turysty, który przyjechał do Zakopanego na narty zapowiada on, że „zadzwoni do Warszawy żeby mu przysłali jeden z jego dawnych paszportów, jako że zdarzało mu się grać rolę zagranicznego turysty". Może to oznaczać, że nie wszystkie ciekawe przygody majora zostały opisane w powieściach ZZZ lub też wcześniej pracował on nieco w innej służbie. Ponadto wydaje się, że nie każdy z oficerów MO posiadał do wyboru wiele (podrobionych!?) paszportów zagranicznych.

Właściwie książka ma tylko jedną wadę. ZZZ był poważnym autorem i nie chciał wypuszczać fuszerek: pomimo tego, ze utwór jest dość krótki, to powinien mieć zamkniętą konstrukcję i nie dopuszczać pojawiających się niejako znikąd i bez uzasadnienia fabularnego morderców. Tak więc, prawie każde przesłuchanie, czy też każda rozmowa przeprowadzana przez Downara w sposób absolutnie nienaturalny zawiera wskazówki dotyczące dalszego śledztwa. Ale nie przypuszczam, aby Klubowicze czynili autorowi wyrzuty z powoduje jego swoistej, dobrze pojętej skrupulatności.

To dobrze świadczyło o wydawnictwie Iskry, że do jubileuszowego zeszytu Ewy wybrało znanego autora z ciekawą powieścią, uwzględniającą najlepsze cechy tego gatunku.

A SOLDIER NEVER BREAKS HIS PROMISE…

Agent Harlan McClain has his target in sight. But he's not pulling the trigger. Instead his assignment is providing Stacy Giordano-the governor's aide-with security. An easy job for a former marine sniper. And yet, the guarded single mother's beauty and devotion to her exceptional child soon have Harlan reshuffling his priorities. In the dead of night, in her bed, he promises to keep her and her son from harm. But when an unexpected crisis arises, Harlan is suddenly torn between keeping his word, and taking out a killer…

Major Operation is a 1971 science fiction book by author James White and is the third volume in the Sector General series. The book collects together a series of five short stories, all of which were originally published in New Worlds magazine.

“Invader” — A series of clumsy accidents at the hospital lead Conway to suspect an alien presence.

“Vertigo” (1968) — a spinning ship (from the planet later nicknamed 'Meatball') is 'rescued' and brought to the hospital.

“Blood Brother” (1969) — Meatball's natural doctors are discovered.

“Meatball” (1966) — Additional investigation reveals more about Meatball’s doctors.

“Major Operation” (1971) — A gigantic patient on Meatball fights medical treatment.

In her charming debut novel, Simonson tells the tale of Maj. Ernest Pettigrew, an honor-bound Englishman and widower, and the very embodiment of duty and pride. As the novel opens, the major is mourning the loss of his younger brother, Bertie, and attempting to get his hands on Bertie's antique Churchill shotgun—part of a set that the boys' father split between them, but which Bertie's widow doesn't want to hand over. While the major is eager to reunite the pair for tradition's sake, his son, Roger, has plans to sell the heirloom set to a collector for a tidy sum. As he frets over the guns, the major's friendship with Jasmina Ali—the Pakistani widow of the local food shop owner—takes a turn unexpected by the major (but not by readers). The author's dense, descriptive prose wraps around the reader like a comforting cloak, eventually taking on true page-turner urgency as Simonson nudges the major and Jasmina further along and dangles possibilities about the fate of the major's beloved firearms. This is a vastly enjoyable traipse through the English countryside and the long-held traditions of the British aristocracy.

The members of S-Squad are looking for a break from their run of cold climate travails. So when a seemingly simple mission in Amazonia comes their way, they are looking forward to some welcome warmth.

What they get is oppresive heat, biting insects, and a dredging operation on the river with a snake problem.

A big snake problem.

Soon they are in a fight for survival. The old snake gods of the river know the waterways much better than our Scottish squaddies. Are their wits, and bonds of comradeship enough to see them through?

One of the premier storytellers of our time — FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND

Scotland's Greatest Horror Writer — GINGER NUTS OF HORROR

The Cuban Missiles Crisis didn’t end peacefully and the 'swinging sixties' didn't happen. On Saturday 27th October 1962 American and Soviet geopolitical brinkmanship resulted in the most terrible war in human history. The forever changed world that remained when the thermonuclear fires had burned themselves out is the world of ‘Timeline 10/27/62’.

‘Operation Anadyr’ is Book 1 of the alternative history series Timeline 10/27/62.

‘Operation Anadyr’ is about the first hours of that alternative history of the world. It is about living through the cataclysm, and wondering how it happened. How did the unthinkable happen? How could our leaders let it happen? How does one quantify the magnitude of the disaster? And what of the survivors living with the aftermath of a world gone mad? ‘Operation Anadyr’ confronts these questions. In ‘Operation Anadyr’ the anatomy of the disaster is writ plain and the men and women who survive it begin to find their voices.

When Captain John Banks and his squad are sent to investigate a derelict Nazi base in Antarctica, he expects to find only ice and dead men. But there is something in the domed hangar bay that has been waiting for decades for release.

A weapon was primed many years before. It had been meant to turn the tide of war.

Now it stirs under the ice once more.

A thought-provoking new short story from the acclaimed author of Zero Day and Trojan Horse.

Challenging Anonymous is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. But the CEO of a major investment firm has done just that, and now cyber security expert Jeff Aiken has to try to protect the company from its leader's mistakes. The timing couldn't be worse, as Jeff is scheduled to appear at a conference that has invited an Anonymous representative as well. And Jeff's about to discover that the hacker outfit plans to bring their fight offline — and into the real world.

Ivan Reznikov. America's Most Wanted. Responsible for over 80 American deaths. Two years after his first attack, an intercepted transmission between Moscow and East Berlin reveals he's been found. The U.S. immediately offers an exchange: Reznikov for Alexei Dotsenko.

During his meeting at the White House, Grant Stevens learns there's much more to the exchange. The CIA lost contact with a deep cover operative. Her last known location was Drazowe, Poland. After discussions and proposals, President Carr approves "Operation Gold Eagle."

While questions still remain unanswered, Team Alpha Tango prepares for its two-part mission. The first must be completed successfully before the second can even be attempted. What the men cannot foresee is the sudden escape of Ivan Reznikov.

Alpha Tango's mission won't be over until it finds the elusive Reznikov. No matter what it takes, A.T. must bring his violent, murderous rampage to an end.

Marshall Hail was a husband, a father, a Physics Nobel prize winner and industrial billionaire. But when Hail's family was killed in a terrorist attack, he became a predator and redirected his vast industrial assets toward one goal, removing every person on the FBI's Top 10 Terrorist list. With the help of his MIT colleagues, Hail designed and built a devastating arsenal of attack drones of all shapes and sizes that are flown by the nation's best young gamers. The world will come to realize that Marshall Hail possesses the capability of getting to anyone, anywhere, at any time, unleashing an operation so disturbing that the CIA has named it Operation Hail Storm.

Winning the Cold War is in the balance…

A super-secret, off-the-books spy organization; a security-clearance starting at Top Secret and going up from there; an attack by giant squid during a thousand-foot dive while breathing an exotic gas; a cat's whisker escape from death during a three-day decompression — and that's just the first two chapters of "Operation Ivy Bells," before the action really gets underway.

In a fast-paced, personal narrative, J.R. "Mac" MacDowell details a breathtaking series of events during a super-secret intelligence gathering operation at the height of the Cold War. Riding the nuclear submarine "Halibut," Mac and his saturation diving team surreptitiously enter the Soviet-controlled Sea of Okhotsk on a proof-of-concept mission. They install a tap on an underwater communications cable at 400 feet, and narrowly escape death when a storm snaps "Halibut's" anchor cables. They retrieve missile parts from a Soviet missile-test splash-zone, getting caught in a sonar-web set by the crafty skipper of an old Soviet diesel submarine. Mac's divers temporarily disable the sub, and "Halibut" escapes to Guam, dogged by the sub Skipper.

Having proved the concept, they return in a "Halibut" outfitted with skids so she can sit on the bottom to attach a 12-thousand-pound pod to the cable for future retrieval. In the missile splash-zone, they lock in deadly underwater combat with Soviet divers. With the free world at stake, they capture one and kill the rest. "Halibut's" submariners and saturation divers finally return home without ever publicly revealing their crucial contribution to winning the Cold War, receiving an unpublicized Presidential Unit Citation.

Blending personal experience and real-world events in a fictional wrapping, "Operation Ivy Bells" offers a never-before-seen glimpse of these heroic men fearlessly facing death to gather the intel that tipped the scales to win the Cold War.

S-Squad are relieved to be home, and even an order to investigate animal mutilations at a local wildlife park does not seem like an onerous detail.

But things take a turn to the twilight zone all too quickly around the S-Squad, and even their homeland is not immune.

Something is feeding, ravenously, on animals, wildlife, and now people in the Scottish Highlands, and the trail leads to only one place, a place of legends, and the dark waters of Loch Ness.

America's astronauts were the targets. Four had been killed so far — with their murderers conveniently found dead just a few hours later.

The enemy was known. Red China. But China's mastermind in the U.S. was a mystery. There were five possibilities.

Dr. Joy Sun, the beautiful NASA scientist, with a voracious sexual appetite… Alex Simian, the multi-millionaire, with the strange "friends" in China… Major Sollitz, the career officer, with luxurious tastes his meager salary couldn't satisfy… Candy Sweet, the sensuous playgirl, with a lust for bizarre kicks… Reno Tree, the crippled hood, with ambitions to take over a Mafia empire.

One of them was in the pay of Red China. But which one? Nick Carter could only wait — with himself as the bait.

Killmaster had made his usual bargain with death!

It's 1945: a German bomber flies over Iceland in a blizzard; the crew have lost their way and eventually crash on the Vatnajokull glacier, the largest in Europe. Puzzlingly, there are both German and American officers on board. One of the senior German officers claims that their best chance of survival is to try to walk to the nearest farm and sets off, a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. He soon disappears into the white vastness. 1999, mid-winter, and the US Army is secretively trying to remove an aeroplane from the Vatnajokull glacier. By coincidence two young Icelanders become involved – but will pay with their lives. Before they are captured, one of the two contacts his sister, Kristin, who will not rest until she discovers the truth of her brother's fate. Her pursuit puts her in great danger, leading her, finally, to a remote island off Argentina in search of the key to the riddle about Operation Napoleon.

It's supposed to be a simple sanitation job, a post war scientific base that needs cleansed of anything that might prove incriminating to British and Norwegian governments. But when the S-Squad try to complete their mission they are pursued in the mountains and fjords by something out of legend. They have woken a sleeping beast. Now it's angry, ready for a fight. And it's bringing its friends along.

In this new edition of his classic 1970 memoir about the notorious U-2 incident, pilot Francis Gary Powers reveals the full story of what actually happened in the most sensational espionage case in Cold War history. After surviving the shoot-down of his reconnaissance plane and his capture on May 1, 1960, Powers endured sixty-one days of rigorous interrogation by the KGB, a public trial, a conviction for espionage, and the start of a ten-year sentence. After nearly two years, the U.S. government obtained his release from prison in a dramatic exchange for convicted Soviet spy Rudolph Abel. The narrative is a tremendously exciting suspense story about a man who was labeled a traitor by many of his countrymen but who emerged a Cold War hero.

The Petrograd submarine, Russia's newest and deadliest war-toy, is NATO's worst nightmare. So, when a Russian naval officer offers the sub's plans and maintenance manual for sale, the CIA station chief in Tokyo jumps at the chance. Both get more than they bargained for. Hours later Russian-seller and CIA-buyer are dead-gunned down by the KGB. But the microchip with the plans has vanished.

With the plans up for grabs Tokyo becomes a chess board of intrigue in a deadly game of Far Eastern espionage. But the Killmaster is playing for higher stakes. As Soviet and Western agents clash, N3 goes after the sub itself…

For the first time since Pearl Harbor, war has arrived on the shores of the United States. As Chinese and Russians attack the frontier of Alaska, American forces are stretched thin. With battles raging in Europe, the Islamic Republic and on their own doorstep, what will President Stein decide to do? Is there any way to salvage their war-torn nation?

In the secret of the night, meetings are taking place to arrange a possible Pan Asian Alliance. Which nations will decide to join, and which will reject the offer to try to maintain their own power and status? These negotiations hold the key to the direction of this world war. Power, greed, fear, and money all coalesce to create the perfect storm… what exactly will emerge from the whirlwind?

America has their own secrets: new exoskeleton designs, improvements in cyber warfare and, of course, the clandestine Operation Pegasus to establish the first permanent lunar base. Will American ingenuity be enough to change the tide of World War III?

Continuation of the World War III Series, an Amazon Top Selling Series

See what happens to America when the country refuses to surrender their forces in the Middle East and capitulate to the Caliphate’s demands. In this second installment of James Rosone and Miranda Watson’s World War III series, we discover the fate of New York City as the Islamic Republic steers a freighter into New York Harbor. Join the authors as they walk us through the final battles in Israel that will transform the Middle East for generations. Will the advent of fighter drones, light drone tanks and new main battle tanks be enough to allow America to rise from the ashes? Or will advances in additive manufacturing and the unholy Axis Powers of Russia, China and the Islamic Republic be enough to conquer the world?

Will the uniting of the Islamic world under one banner be enough to defeat Israel and the West, or will they succumb to their own religious theocracy and extremist interpretation of Islam? Will China look to technology to increase their food production or decide to incorporate the rest of Asia into a Greater Chinese nation? With Russia having successfully taken back their former Soviet Republics, will they finally destroy NATO and incorporate the European Union into the ever expanding Russian Federation? This gripping political and military thriller looks at the potential future of 2041, the coming clash of civilizations, the rise of new Superpowers and the decline of the West.

In this fiendishly imaginative book (which may or may not be fiction), Philip Roth meets a man who may or may not be Philip Roth. Because someone with that name has been touring Israel, promoting a bizarre reverse exodus of the Jews. Roth is intent on stopping him, even if that means impersonating his own impersonator.

With excruciating suspense, unfettered philosophical speculation, and a cast of characters that includes Israeli intelligence agents, Palestinian exiles, an accused war criminal, and an enticing charter member of an organization called Anti-Semites Anonymous, Operation Shylock barrels across the frontier between fact and fiction, seriousness and high comedy, history and nightmare.

When Captain John Banks and his squad are sent to investigate a zoo in Siberia, he expects to find tigers, bears, maybe elk But there is something there that is new, yet very, very old.

Beasts that haven’t walked the Earth since the last Ice Age have been cloned, revived, and set loose to roam free.

And some of them are very hungry.

Nick Carter didn't believe in an abominable snowman — that is, until high in the heart of the Himalayas, in the face of monstrous evidence, he was forced to…

Nick Carter didn't believe there was a woman who could shake his cool — that is, until he met the beautiful Khaleen and she made him want to…

Nick Carter didn't believe it was possible for one man to stop the Chinese from taking over a country — that is, until he got the assignment in Nepal and realized he had to!

Killmaster's logic is no match for ancient superstition in this electrifying espionage adventure that plunges AXE's top operative into brutal Red Chinese intrigue deep in the Himalayas!

A trip to a war zone to rescue trapped archaeologists finds the S-Squad in a remote desert region of lost cities and temples. They quickly discover that they are not alone among the ruins. First they find the bodies, then they find the webs, then they're in real trouble when the spiders attack. Big spiders. Lots of them.

Welcome to the future of America. Land of chaos and home of the ambitious…

A botched assassination on the eve of Election Day throws the routine transfer of presidential authority on its head and the American government into chaos.

With Congress and the Supreme Court locked in a constitutional standoff, rabble-rousing state governors fueling the fire and shadowy opportunists pulling strings, the nation teeters on the verge of a Second Civil War.

While the politicos play their chess games, the pawns refuse to sit idly by. Sometimes the tail doesn’t just wag the dog, but strangles it.

Sergeant Major John Brown, a hard charging paratrooper, is about as political as a potato. He’s the last man anyone imagined inciting a revolution…

Young Sophie Kampbell, a social justice crusader, despises violence in every form. On the other hand, when tragedy shoves her into the arms of the mysterious “Freedom Brigade” militias, she finds that a rifle delivers a lot more permanent social justice than any picket sign…

From the rhetoric-stained halls of power to the reluctant warriors on the ultramodern battlefield, get ready to take an extreme tour of the next major chapter in US history.

Keep low, stay alert, and just maybe you'll survive a tour of duty in Operation: Enduring Unity.

The five tales are written with the same skill, quality and charm that made The Hobbit a classic. Largely overlooked because of their short lengths, they are finally together in a volume which reaffirms Tolkien's place as a master storyteller for readers young and old.

Roverandom is a toy dog who, enchanted by a sand sorcerer, gets to explore the world and encounter strange and fabulous creatures.

Farmer Giles of Ham is fat and unheroic, but - having unwittingly managed to scare off a short-sighted giant - is called upon to do battle when a dragon comes to town;

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil tells in verse of Tom's many adventures with hobbits, princesses, dwarves and trolls;

Leaf by Niggle recounts the strange adventures of the painter Niggle who sets out to paint the perfect tree;

Smith of Wootton Major journeys to the Land of Faery thanks to the magical ingredients of the Great Cake of the Feast of Good Children.

This new collection is fully illustrated throughout by Oscar-winning artist, Alan Lee, who provides a wealth of pencil drawings to bring the stories to life as he did so memorably for The Hobbit and The Children of Húrin. Alan also provides an Afterword, in which he opens the door into illustrating Tolkien's world.

Taken together, this rich collection of new and unknown work from the author of The Children of Húrin will provide the reader with a fascinating journey into lands as wild and strange as Middle-earth.

Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

I've enjoyed all of Gavin Lyall's standalone thrillers – stories like Midnight Plus One, The Most Dangerous Game, and The Wrong Side of the Sky – but especially like his Major Maxim series. Ex-SAS Harry Maxim, the very model of a modern military gentleman, is straight as an arrow, which does not serve him well when involved with politicians and spies – which he is all too often. He gets into very serious trouble in every episode, but somehow always comes through with his integrity intact.

Harry's wife Jenny died in a bombed plane and his parents help him raise his son Chris – he's continually guilt-ridden when his job prevents him from spending time with his son. At this point in the series, Harry Maxim is seconded to 10 Downing Street, working for the lazy but very wily George Harbinger, and often in liaison (and in conflict) with the devious, somewhat amoral, Security Service agent Agnes Algar – of course, their prickly relationship slowly and steadily develops into something stronger, to the initial dismay of both parties.

This story starts with analysts monitoring East German news and speculating about a rising political star named Gustav Eismark. We see an old woman, a talented but damaged musician, who lives in the country and teaches piano. Then Harry meets an old army friend who asks for his help for a deserter, Ron Blagg, who got involved in a special op on the request of a woman, Mrs. Howard, he believed was a British agent. Two people died in Germany, Blagg fled, and now he wants in from the cold. Harry tries to help him. Agnes is called to a high level meeting 'To consider the conduct of Major H. R. Maxim'. His digging into Blagg's story has 'started a constitutional crisis'.

The plot quickly thickens, and the search is on for information obtained by the now dead Mrs. Howard. Harry heads to Germany, and then works under the radar, helped by Agnes. When Harry tells Agnes the secret that Eismark had been trying so hard to hide, she replies 'God Almighty' to which his answer is, 'He's seen worse in His time.' If you haven't met Major Maxim yet, then you really should start reading this thrilling military/spy series.

In his sensational new book, Economist senior editor Edward Lucas lays bare the naïveté, hypocrisy and sinister background surrounding Edward Snowden, the fugitive American intelligence contractor now living in Moscow. “The Snowden Operation”, demolishes Snowden’s claim to be a whistleblower. Drawing on 30 years’ experience observing the world of intelligence, Lucas depicts Snowden as at best reckless and naïve, and at worst a saboteur. He stole far more secrets than were necessary to make his case and did so in a deliberately damaging matter. Any benefits to the public debate about issues such as meta-data and encryption are far outweighed by the damage done to the West’s security, diplomacy and economic interests.

“The Snowden Operation” highlights the inconsistencies and puzzles in the account of events given by the “Snowdenistas”. It explains how Russia could have sponsored Snowden’s data heist — the greatest disaster ever to hit Western intelligence, and one whose effects have neatly suited Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Оказывается, бывают и знахари-целители компьютерной техники…

Джеймс Максвелл — пресыщенный богач из далекого будущего, не желающий связывать себя серьезными отношениями с какой-либо женщиной. Но однажды он натыкается на странную рекламу, в которой его бывший соученик рассказывает о незабываемых впечатлениях, испытанных в результате общения с женщинами далекого средневековья.

© kkk72

Во второй том избранных произведений Ю.С. Рытхэу вошли широкоизвестные повести и рассказы писателя, а также очерки, объединенные названием "Под сенью волшебной горы", – книга путешествий и размышлений писателя о судьбе народов Севера, об истории развития его культуры, о связях прошлого и настоящего в жизни советской Чукотки.

«Джеймс і гігантський персик» — одна з найвідоміших дитячих повістей Роальда Дала.

… Так сталося, що маленький Джеймс мусить жити разом зі своїми злющими тітоньками — тіткою Шкваркою і тіткою Шпичкою, які постійно коверзують і знущаються з нього. Проте одного дня стається щось надзвичайне, і життя Джеймса та його тітоньок докорінно змінюється… Як завжди, динамічна, тривожна й безмежно весела повість одного з найпопулярніших англійських письменників не залишає місця байдужості…

Первое произведение, написанное Роальдом Далем специально для детей. Рисунки Нэнси Эльхольм Бёркерт.

Книга посвящена выдающемуся английскому мореплавателю Дж. Куку, человеку удивительной судьбы. Сын батрака-поденщика, он, пройдя суровую морскую службу, стал командиром трех крупных экспедиций, в которых были открыты неизвестные ранее земли. Особенно интересны его открытия и путешествия в южном полушарии.    

С началом второго года обучения в Хогвартсе Джеймс задается вопросом:  а можно ли доверять новому директору? Выяснить ответ придется как можно скорее, ведь в мир проникло очередное зло, древнее, как сами основатели школы чародейства и волшебства, и будущее человечества зависит от человека, в чьей преданности Джеймс сомневается. В этой книге старший сын Гарри Поттера столкнется с испытаниями, которые разбудят его глубинные страхи… и тайные мечты.

Эти биографические очерки были изданы около ста лет назад в серии «Жизнь замечательных людей», осуществленной Ф.Ф.Павленковым (1839–1900). Написанные в новом для того времени жанре поэтической хроники и историко-культурного исследования, эти тексты сохраняют ценность и по сей день. Писавшиеся «для простых людей», для российской провинции, сегодня они могут быть рекомендованы отнюдь не только библиофилам, но самой широкой читательской аудитории: и тем, кто совсем не искушен в истории и психологии великих людей, и тем, для кого эти предметы – профессия.

Аннотация: Альтернативная история.

На календаре — весна 1940 года. Вторая Всепланетная Война набирает обороты. Флот Альбионской Республики уже проиграл Кергеленское сражение; белголландские бомбардировщики уже прошли над Харбином; "Zeeleeuw" — Морской Лев — уже проглотил Британию! Главный герой и злодей чудом спасается из джунглей халистанской колонии — но его уже ждут джунгли Коммунистической Южной Африки…

Что будет завтра?…

Главы 28–53. Роман завершен.

Эта книга — воспоминания о Джеймсе Хэрриоте (настоящее имя — Джеймс Альфред Уайт) — всемирно известном сельском ветеринаре, книги которого выходят миллионными тиражами. Джеймс Хэрриот писал о животных — братьях наших меньших — так, как ни до, ни после него не удавалось никому.

Теперь о Джеймсе Хэрриоте написал его сын, работавший с отцом бок о бок в ветеринарной клинике еще до того, как тот стал знаменитым писателем, и для которого отец был самым близким другом. В книге собраны воспоминания людей, знавших Хэрриота, материалы из его личного архива, переписка.

Как и его отец всю свою жизнь Джим Уайт посвятил животным. Его ветеринарному стажу более пятидесяти лет.

Необыкновенные каникулы предстоят восьмикласснику Жене Лапушину. Он даже не мечтал о поездке в Америку и о главной роли в настоящем фильме! Но увы, это была лишь красивая «легенда». На самом деле ему предстоит сыграть роль, но не в фильме… Женя и не подозревает, что он – главное действующее лицо секретной операции «Джеймс Бонд».

Необыкновенные каникулы предстоят восьмикласснику Жене Лапушину. Он даже не мечтал о поездке в Америку и о главной роли в настоящем фильме! Но увы, это была лишь красивая «легенда». На самом деле ему предстоит сыграть роль, но не в фильме… Женя и не подозревает, что он – главное действующее лицо секретной операции «Джеймс Бонд».

Это беспристрастный рассказ о германском коммунисте и советском разведчике, прожившем короткую, но бурную и яркую жизнь. Часто Рихарда Зорге называют «разведчиком № 1 в мире. Он длительное время жил только в четырех странах — Германии, СССР, Китае и Японии, но смог добыть бесценный разведывательный материал, повлияв тем самым на ход Второй мировой войны. Автор книги, известный историк, развенчивает ряд связанных с именем Зорге мифов, доказывая несправедливость ряда критических замечаний в его адрес, показывает и непростую личную жизнь своего героя.

Знак информационной продукции 12+

Основой трехтомного собрания сочинений знаменитого аргентинского писателя Л.Х.Борхеса, классика ХХ века, послужили шесть сборников произведений мастера, часть его эссеистики, стихи из всех прижизненных сборников и микроновеллы – шедевры борхесовской прозыпоздних лет.